STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

[Shikar]

Amazing, informative and my favorite thread.

Regards.

[MIKA27]

I Really Want This Sci-Fi Short Film To Be Made Into A Full Movie

http://youtu.be/DczTZhdPPss

Into Dusk is a sci-fi short film about a terminal patient — Ellie — and her lover — Wren — who is broke, desperate to save her life — and has a gun. Jason Ho filmed it to attract investors to make a full feature. I would watch a film that explores how a normal drama could develop in a future world with different rules.

I can imagine it made like the tension and crudely realistic sadness of Dog Day Afternoon with the smart take on technology of Black Mirror, and the far future aesthetics of Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art. I’ll be first in line to watch it.

[MIKA27]

The Avengers: Age Of Ultron Teaser Trailer Is Here, For Real This Time

Avengers fans, assemble. After an accidental low quality leak, the official teaser trailer for Avengers: Age Of Ultron has hit the ‘net. Marvel has published the teaser for the next Avengers movie on YouTube, and it looks pretty damn cool.

The low quality trailer that came out a couple of hours ago was the real thing, but it just didn’t come from the right source. Marvel had this to say:

Dammit, Hydra.

The movie is out on May 1 next year, and it has the full cast of the original Avengers flick facing off against the titular Ultron, an ostensibly peacekeeping robot built by Tony Stark, that goes haywire and decides to destroy everything. In any case, the official teaser trailer for Avengers: Age Of Ultron is here, now, streaming in beautiful Full HD. Enjoy:

[MIKA27]

How the world loved the swastika - until Hitler stole it

In the Western world the swastika is synonymous with fascism, but it goes back thousands of years and has been used as a symbol of good fortune in almost every culture in the world. As more evidence emerges of its long pre-Nazi history in Europe, can this ancient sign can ever shake off its evil associations?

In the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, swastika means "well-being". The symbol has been used by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains for millennia and is commonly assumed to be an Indian sign.

Early Western travellers to Asia were inspired by its positive and ancient associations and started using it back home. By the beginning of the 20th Century there was a huge fad for the swastika as a benign good luck symbol.

In his book The Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption? US graphic design writer Steven Heller shows how it was enthusiastically adopted in the West as an architectural motif, on advertising and product design.

20th Century fad: Fruit packaging, a Coca-Cola pendant, and a pack of cards, all from the US

"Coca-Cola used it. Carlsberg used it on their beer bottles. The Boy Scouts adopted it and the Girls' Club of America called their magazine Swastika. They would even send out swastika badges to their young readers as a prize for selling copies of the magazine," he says.

It was used by American military units during World War One and it could be seen on RAF planes as late as 1939. Most of these benign uses came to a halt in the 1930s as the Nazis rose to power in Germany.

The Nazi use of the swastika stems from the work of 19th Century German scholars translating old Indian texts, who noticed similarities between their own language and Sanskrit. They concluded that Indians and Germans must have had a shared ancestry and imagined a race of white god-like warriors they called Aryans.

A Hindu boy with a shaved head, and a giant vase at a Buddhist temple in Japan

This idea was seized upon by anti-Semitic nationalist groups who appropriated the swastika as an Aryan symbol to boost a sense of ancient lineage for the Germanic people.

The black straight-armed hakenkreuz (hooked cross) on the distinctive white circle and red background of the Nazi flag would become the most hated symbol of the 20th Century, inextricably linked to the atrocities committed under the Third Reich.

"For the Jewish people the swastika is a symbol of fear, of suppression, and of extermination. It's a symbol that we will never ever be able to change," says 93-year-old Holocaust survivor Freddie Knoller. "If they put the swastika on gravestones or synagogues, it puts a fear into us. Surely it shouldn't happen again."

The swastika was banned in Germany at the end of the war and Germany tried unsuccessfully to introduce an EU-wide ban in 2007.

The irony is that the swastika is more European in origin than most people realise. Archaeological finds have long demonstrated that the swastika is a very old symbol, but ancient examples are by no means limited to India. It was used by the Ancient Greeks, Celts, and Anglo-Saxons and some of the oldest examples have been found in Eastern Europe, from the Baltic to the Balkans .

If you want to see just how deeply rooted the swastika pattern is in Europe, a good place to start is Kiev where the National Museum of the History of Ukraine has an impressive range of exhibits.

Among the museum's most highly prized treasures is a small ivory figurine of a female bird. Made from the tusk of a mammoth, it was found in 1908 at the Palaeolithic settlement of Mezin near the Russian border.

On the torso of the bird is engraved an intricate meander pattern of joined up swastikas. It's the oldest identified swastika pattern in the world and has been radio carbon-dated to an astonishing 15,000 years ago. The bird was found with a number of phallic objects which supports the idea that the swastika pattern was used as a fertility symbol.

In 1965 a palaeontologist called Valentina Bibikova discovered that the swastika meander pattern on the bird is very similar to the naturally occurring pattern visible on a cross-section of ivory. Could it be that the Palaeolithic makers of the figurine were simply reflecting what they saw in nature - the huge mammoth they associated with well-being and fertility?

Single swastikas began to appear in the Neolithic Vinca culture across south-eastern Europe around 7,000 years ago. But it's in the Bronze Age that they became more widespread across the whole of Europe. In the Museum's collection there are clay pots with single swastikas encircling their upper half which date back to around 4,000 years ago. When the Nazis occupied Kiev in World War Two they were so convinced that these pots were evidence of their own Aryan ancestors that they took them back to Germany. (They were returned after the war.)

In the Museum's Grecian collection, the swastika is visible as the architectural ornament which has come to be known as the Greek key pattern, widely used on tiles and textiles to this day.

Left: Grecian architectural swastikas in the Kiev museum. Right: Brooklyn Academy of Music (New York)

The Ancient Greeks also used single swastika motifs to decorate their pots and vases. One fragment in the collection from around 7th Century BCE shows a swastika with limbs like unfurling tendrils painted under the belly of a goat.

Fragments of a 12th Century princess's collar

Perhaps the most surprising exhibit in the museum is of fragile textile fragments that have survived from the 12th Century AD. They are believed to belong to the dress collar of a Slav princess, embroidered with gold crosses and swastikas to ward off evil.

The swastika remained a popular embroidery motif in Eastern Europe and Russia right up to World War Two. A Russian author called Pavel Kutenkov has identified nearly 200 variations across the region. But the hakenkreuz remains a highly charged symbol. In 1941 Kiev was the site of one of the worst Nazi mass murders of the Holocaust when nearly 34,000 Jews were rounded up and killed at the ravine of Babi Yar.

In Western Europe the use of indigenous ancient swastikas petered out long before the modern era but examples can be found in many places such as the famous Bronze AgeSwastika Stone on Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire

Some people think this long history can help revive the symbol in Europe as something positive. Peter Madsen, owner of an upmarket tattoo parlour in Copenhagen says the swastika is an element of Norse mythology that holds a strong appeal to many Scandinavians. He is one of the founders of last year's Learn to Love the Swastika Day on 13 November, when tattoo artists around the world offered free swastikas, to raise awareness of the symbol's long multicultural past.

"The swastika is a symbol of love and Hitler abused it. We're not trying to reclaim the hakenkreuz. That would be impossible. Nor is it something we want people to forget," he says.

One of Peter Madsen's clients, with an armpit swastika

"We just want people to know that the swastika comes in many other forms, none of which have ever been used for anything bad. We are also trying to show the right-wing fascists that it's wrong to use this symbol. If we can educate the public about the true meanings of the swastika, maybe we can take it away from the fascists."

But for those like Freddie Knoller who have experienced the horrors of fascism, the prospect of learning to love the swastika is not so easy.

"For the people who went through the Holocaust, we will always remember what the swastika was like in our life - a symbol of pure evil," he says.

"We didn't know how the symbol dates back so many thousands of years ago. But I think it's interesting for people to learn that the swastika was not always the symbol of fascism."

[MIKA27]

Worried that Dracula is headed your way? Vampire-slaying kit from 1800s complete with wooden stakes, crucifixes and vials of holy water goes up for sale (you might want to add garlic just in case)

A vampire slaying kit complete with guns, axes, wooden stakes and crucifixes is among hundreds of creepy items up for sale in a New Jersey auction.

The 19th century kit, which has been constructed inside a wooden coffin, has been given a starting bid of $5,000 at the 'Danse Macabre' (dance of death) sale in Closter later this month.

In addition to the old-fashioned weaponry, it includes a religious book, vials of holy water, garlic and salt, and other items needed to slaughter a blood-sucking monster.

Weaponry: The 19th century kit is complete with old guns, axes (pictured) wooden stakes and crucifixes

To deter a vampire: It also includes a religious book and small jars of holy water, garlic and salt (pictured)

Chilling: The kit, which also contains intricately carved wooden stakes (left), has been given a starting bid of $5,000 at an auction in Closter, New Jersey. Right, another item in the sale, a Japanese demon mask

A creepy buy: The kit's exterior (pictured) resembles a wooden coffin - and its interior is just as creepy

Although particularly striking to look at, the kit is not the only one available for potential vampire slayers to buy. Another smaller kit, featuring silver crucifixes and wooden stakes, is also on sale.

Meanwhile, a voodoo box from the 1800s - complete with 'hexing paraphernalia', a human skull, a wax doll and chilling photos of infants from post-mortem records - will appear at the auction.

The box, along with many of the auction's other items, was collected by Mark Falk, 'a mild-mannered U.S. government employee' who had a secret obsession with the occult and macabre.

After his death, Falk's home was found brimming with objects related to 'death, post mortems, voodoo, vampires, medical quackery, gruesome tribal knives'.

Smaller kit: Although particularly striking to look at, the kit is not the only one available for potential vampire slayers to buy. Another smaller kit (pictured) with silver crucifixes and wooden stakes is also on sale

Bony: Many of the 'Danse Macabre' (dance of death) sale's items were collected by government worker Mark Falk, who had a secret obsession with the occult and macabre. Above, a vintage articulated human hand

Skull: After his death, Falk's home was found brimming with objects related to 'death, post mortems, voodoo, vampires, medical quackery, gruesome tribal knives'. Above, a portion of skull; starting bid $50

Superstitious: A voodoo box (pictured) from the 1800s - complete with 'hexing paraphernalia', a human skull, a wax doll and chilling photos of infants from post-mortem records - will also appear at the auction

A tragic fate: The box contains a number photos of infants from post-mortem records, including this one

Antique: A selection of four African throwing knives featuring engraved blades and wrapped handles

'By day, Mark Falk was a government worker who went to church regularly and played music as a hobby,' said auction house owner, Stephen D'Atr, of Sterling Associates in New Jersey.

'All of his friends say he was a wonderful, interesting guy. What made him different was that he also had a fascination with death.'

Other items up for sale include taxidermy insects (such as tarantulas), historic music sheets from famous composers, a Japanese demon mask, African throwing knives and human bones.

Regal: Another item up for sale is this regimental silver-mounted Gurkha kukri with Royal Cypher of Queen Elizabeth II. Its rear pouch contains two horn-handle knives.

Music: This collection of six antique music journals with music from various composers is also up for sale

Old-fashioned: This bound album of handwritten sheet music (right), possibly by Mozart, dating back to 19th century and Vogel V 180 Royal (by Schimmel) baby grand piano (left) will also feature in the auction

Strange collection: Other items up for sale include a collection of framed insects, with a starting bid of $100

Upcoming sale; The auction will be held using remote bids on October 22. Above, a green insect in a frame

'There is a human foot, a hand, a female pelvis and a partial skull, it really creeps you out,' said Mr D'Atr.

There is also a regimental silver-mounted Gurkha kukri featuring the Royal Cypher of Queen Elizabeth II. Its rear pouch contains two horn-handle knives.

[MIKA27]

MAKER'S MARK CASK STRENGTH BOURBON

What was typically reserved for a taste here and there on a distillery tour is now available in bottles for the first time. Maker's Mark Cask Strength is Maker's Mark, but uncut, unfiltered, and straight from the barrel. It weighs in at a proof between 108-114, quite an uptick from the 90 proof standard bottling. It's Maker's Mark cranked up to eleven, with loads of flavor and character.

[MIKA27]

BELL & ROSS BR-X1 WATCH

The iconic square shape of the Bell & Ross BR-01, which is directly inspired by aeronautical flight instruments, was borrowed for their latest innovation, the BR-X1 Watch.

The first chronograph in a new Bell & Ross collection, the BR-X1 has a skeleton chronograph, toggle push buttons, and a titanium and ceramic case with rubber inserts. Bell & Ross continues to pioneer with this top of the line contemporary sports watch.

[MIKA27]

FRANK LEDER BAVARIAN SAUSAGE HANDSOAP

Add a bit of German essence to your cleaning regimen with Frank Leder Bavarian Sausage Handsoap.

Made in small batches in Austria, this unique hand soap is made with traditional recipes in mind, using natural ingredients and scents to leave you with a marjoram and black pepper smell that's manly and enticing. Presented in a handsome 250ml glass bottle with a Bakelite screw cap.

MIKA: Seriously, WTF!? You'll have the neighbourhoods dogs following you down the street!

[MIKA27]

What The US Thinks Of Europe, What Europe Thinks Of The US & What Europe thinks of Europe!

Stereotypes today are typically outdated and vaguely racist but when harmless, they can be quite comical. Like these quick hitter animations about what the USA thinks of Europe and vice versa and what different parts of Europe thinks about the other parts. They’re a lot of fun to watch.

Most of the humour seems to be European specific.

The animations were made by Aleix Salo for his book Euro Nightmare.

[MIKA27]

Watch the full-length trailer for Ridley Scott's live-action 'Halo: Nightfall'

Here it is, the first full-length trailer for Halo: Nightfall, the live-action series coming to Xbox from executive producer Ridley Scott (i.e. not the Steven Spielberg one). We got a tease in late July, but this video expands on that with a stronger glimpse at the characters and the world.

Halo: Nightfall focuses on agent Jameson Locke, played by Mike Colter, and his investigation into a biological weapon affecting only humans. on A multitude of classic weapons from the series seem to make an appearance, including an energy sword wielded by a Covenant soldier. There's actually two quick looks at the Covenant.

Locke will be playable in Halo 5: Guardians when it comes out late next year. Halo: Nightfall will be released November 11th with Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One — which, since you asked, includes the following:

• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (the remastered version from 2011)
• Halo 2 Anniversary (similarly remastered)
• Halo 3 (now 1080p and 60 frames per second)
• Halo 4 (ditto)
• Access to Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta
• Halo: Nightfall

The first episode of Nightfall will reportedly premiere the day prior, November 10th, as part of the official HaloFest livestream.

[MIKA27]

Christian Bale Is Steve Jobs

Christian Bale will slip into a mock turtleneck to play Steve Jobs in an upcoming film about the Apple co-founder. (The one that has nothing to do with Ashton Kutcher.)

Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay, and he’s jazzed to have Bale on board. “We needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range and that’s Chris Bale,” Sorkin told Bloomberg Television, explaining that Bale didn’t need to audition.

The movie, based on Walter Isaacson’s 2011 biography on Jobs, is named after the Apple idol for a reason. The Jobs character is going to dominate the screen.

“The role is an extremely difficult role. He has more words to say in this movie than most people have in three movies combined,” Sorkin said. “There isn’t a scene or frame that he’s not in, and there’s a tremendous amount of language.”

Bale is a good actor, and he has just the right balance of prickliness and genius to nail Jobs. But who is filling the Woz role? Sorkin didn’t say. My vote is for Jonah Hill (if the real Woz isn’t available, of course.)

Danny Boyle is set to direct, meaning we have an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, and actor on board. Meaning this movie might be awesome.

One Steve Jobs movie isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Another Steve Jobs movie that doesn’t suck.

[MIKA27]

A Man Returns To Chernobyl After Leaving Decades Ago

This is the music video for It’s Alright, by Fractures, filmed in location in Chernobyl, Ukraine, right after the Maidan revolution that shook that country. It’s not as visually or musically powerful as Paolo Nutini’s Iron Sky, but I like the overall tone.

Fractures is the moniker of the Melbourne-based musician Mark Zito. You can listen to his album in Soundcloud and buy the song here.

[MIKA27]

Hunting Alaska's Most Elusive Big Game

Hunting is a challenge at the best of times. But, factor in America’s most remote mountain range combined with this continent’s most elusive big game species — the dall sheep — and you have a recipe for the most difficult 10 days of your life. Or, the most rewarding.

I’ve always thought that beginning a hunting trip in an airport was strange. They are not an environment that exudes serenity or peace. Unfortunately, to get to the road less traveled, sometimes we have to painfully compress ourselves into the confines of our own cramped urban sprawl.

This trip was different, not only was I going to Alaska, to hunt on one of the most remote mountain ranges the Unites States has to offer, but I was going to be hunting one of the most elusive big game species on this continent, the Dall Sheep. Knowing that I wouldn’t be seeing more than five people for the next ten days in the middle of endless amounts of untouched wilderness made the confines of modern day flying seem like a very small hurdle.

The morning after landing, and meeting up with the rest of our party, we went straight to the train station to start our eight-hour trek north to Denali National Park. Obviously we wouldn’t be hunting inside a national park, but the small town of Healy, located just outside the park boundary, is where our guide calls home.

Being that this was a “work” trip, the rest of our crew were writers, videographers, and hunting guides. Myself? I’m the Director of Marketing for a sporting firearms company located on the central coast of California called Weatherby. For the last 70 years we have developed and produced what I think are some of the fastest hunting cartridges and most accurate rifles, as well as some fine sporting and home defence shotguns. Personally I grew up in a rural area of eastern Oregon where hunting and shooting wasn’t just for sport, but it also got us through some rough winters and provided my family with the lean protein that most people relate expensive weightlifting shakes with. I grew up outdoors and my professional life has also followed that same path.

The rest of our crew:

• Dustin Lutt, a world-class videographer and photographer for RockHouse Motion.
• Aaron, managing editor for a major hunting and shooting publication (article to be released soon).
• Coke Wallace, legendary Alaskan hunting guide and owner of Midnight Sun Safaris.
• Justin Cox, hunting guide with Midnight Sun Safaris for the last five years.

For those of you who are fans of Jon Krakauer, you may recognise the name Healy. Christoper McCandless was found dead just outside of the small town and his memoirs inspired Krakauer’s book “Into The Wild” as well as the major motion picture that was directed by Sean Penn. Coke Wallace, the owner of Midnight Sun Safaris, took everyone involved in the motion picture to the bus where McCandless’s body was found, only 25 miles from Wallace’s house, as well as helping with some of the production of the film. He still takes people on tours out to the remote and barren location.

We stayed the first night in Healy at the house of our guide and one of the first things that we noticed was just how long it stayed light. Roughly 21 hours. Knowing that hunting in the lower 48 has a lot to do with cycles and reading the animals’ daily activities and trying to get to them based upon their normal daily routines, how do you gauge what an animal is going to be doing when they have 21 hours of daylight in the summer and three hours in the winter? Not to mention we were losing about eight minutes of daylight every single day. It was about to be a crash course in Alaskan hunting techniques.

All the modern amenities.

The bush plane flight in to camp was short, about 20 minutes, and as long as you aren’t too afraid of flying, it was really smooth. Landing on a bumpy dirt runway that had small bushes and patches of grass all over it however would make even the most seasoned traveller pucker a little bit.

Base camp on Moody Creek.

The next morning we ate a filling breakfast, packed our horses and started making our way down the valley, all the while glassing for little white specs sprinkled along sheer cliff faces.

Sheep!

Within the first couple hours of the hunt we spotted our first group of sheep, and we could tell that they were rams. The problem was that they were just about as geographically far from us as possible. No matter, we had been training for months preparing for exactly an opportunity like this, and we set off to get a better look.

The group of sheep spotted above was high up the cliffs on the furthest mountain in this photo.

Day one is definitely an exciting time in any hunting season. We look at what we later realise to be monumental or near-impossible feats, and shrug them off. I like to relate it to walking anywhere on the Vegas strip. How many times have you walked out of a casino or hotel on the strip, pointed to your desired destination, and told all your friends that they’re ******* for wanting to get a cab? Then about half way there you realise that you’re not in a part of town you want to be in (Damn you Stratosphere!). Alaska is a big place and we were just about to teach ourselves a valuable lesson in being prepared for the game that we were chasing. This is where we unpacked from the horses and began our journey on foot.

An important lesson about rainbows in Alaska; if you see one and you didn’t just get drenched with rain, you’re about to.

Once we were above the tree line, it was the most beautiful and breathtaking scenery that I have ever seen. At any given time we could pull out our binoculars and witness grizzly bears feeding on blueberries, mountain caribou running aimlessly up and down ridgelines, and dall sheep scaling near vertical rock faces. It really is an unbelievable place.

Before we knew it, we had been hiking all day, avoiding ridgelines so we wouldn’t skyline ourselves to the sheep we were stalking. Every now and then we would take a break to peak over a ridge to make sure they hadn’t wandered off. Everything was going as planned.

Most of the hiking was on tundra but the occasional rockslide, sometimes hundreds of vertical feet in size, was not uncommon. This demands boots that are not only very tough but also versatile and comfortable and waterproof. Saving money by purchasing bargain gear is not an option.

We finally reached the top at roughly 11pm, and we still had a couple hours of daylight. The only thing left to do was locate the sheep, make sure they hadn’t gone far, and plan a stalk. If we didn’t have time, we could just wait out the three hours of darkness on the mountain and go after them right at daylight.

This plan was not to be.

Once we crawled across the tundra up to the top to glass and find out just where the rams may have wandered off to, usually feeding around the cliffs picking at fresh shoots of vegetation. Much to our dismay, they had vanished in the short amount of time that we were in the shadow of a couple small peaks. In the off chance that another group of rams had wandered into the same area, we took a break and glassed hoping to catch of glimpse of white specs. After seeing nothing, we decided to head back down the mountain at midnight.

We hit the tree line right at dark, which is really more like twilight, and found the nearest game trail to help with hiking the rest of the way back to the horses. The ability to lift our legs was beginning to get difficult and with the increasing amounts of willows and underbrush that we were stepping over, making our way off the mountain was becoming a safety concern. Coke Wallace, the owner of Midnight Sun Safaris and master Alaskan guide, made the call to get some sleep in a small grove of trees until the light was better. We had been hiking 16 hours at this point.

Our campsite on night #1. Our guides got a fire going and we all passed out laying around the fire. The intermittent rain storms throughout the day gave us the choice to either get wet on the outside or put rainwear on that got you wet from the inside while hiking. It was a constant battle of putting layers on and taking layers off.

26 hours after leaving camp for day one, we were back. Day one was complete, nine more to go.

The next day we decided to work our way up the valley. Within two hours we had spotted another group of rams, this time much closer and we could tell that at least one was a legal ram.

We had a great opportunity to sneak up some deep drainages and get within a few hundred yards and get a better idea of the size and age of all the rams. Within an hour we were in a great spot to watch the rams feed up the rims a little closer to us. We made the decision that Aaron would take the first shot at a legal ram so he got in a prone position and patiently watched the rams work their way within range.

It didn’t take long for the sheep to get to 375 yards and our guide determined that one of the rams was indeed legal. Aaron was using a Weatherby Mark V Ultra Lightweight chambered in .270 Weatherby Magnum, which means that at that range his bullet would still be carrying more energy than most standard cartridges at the muzzle. Easily enough energy for a humane single shot kill.

Aaron’s position when he took the shot.

Aaron took his time, got his range again, took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger. It was easy to tell the ram was hit and he fell off the cliff almost instantaneously.

With all the meat packed up and the cape and head with Aaron, we made our way back down to the horses. As we were getting ready to ride away, Coke leaned over in his saddle, looked at me with a very stern look on his face, and said, “It never happens like that, getting a sheep is never this easy. ” Not that I didn’t believe him, but the rest of the season served as proof to his statement. For now we were on our way back to camp for hot food and some Twang.

Since the location is so remote most of the drinks are powdered to save weight on the trip out. Tang makes the perfect option, and hey, the astronauts drank it so why not. Twang is a concoction that we were introduced to by Justin Cox and it is whatever amount of Tang and whatever amount of booze you care to mix together. It tastes pretty good at the end of a really long day.

All the storms at least made for beautiful sunsets.

The next couple of days were spent making our way up and down the valley and sometimes getting grounded due to rain and fog. We diligently tried to work around the storms but when the sheep won’t move because of the fog, it’s really hard for hunters to spot and stalk them. Sometimes you just have to play the hand you’re dealt.

Horses are the most reliable form of transportation in the backcountry.

On the night of day five we decided it was time to go deeper and set up a spike camp the following day. We had seen rams every day up to this point but putting the stalk on them was not always possible. If we could camp where they were, we would have lots more time to stalk, even in between the frequent rainstorms that we had been experiencing.

Home, sweet tundra patch.

The day that we got to camp will forever be known at Midnight Sun Safaris as “Sheep Aerobics.” To be honest, if I was to type out all of the events that happened within the first six hours, I don’t think that even I would believe it. I will give a brief rundown of what happened below, to be honest it was so chaotic that no photos or video exists of the events that unfolded.

Dustin and I took our horses to a spot and began scanning the rims in the nearby valley looking for potential hunt spots that evening. When Coke and Justin came over to ask how the glassing was going, we got a surprise attack from a ram that came walking over the small peak just behind us.

We then decided, since it was a small peak, we would make our way to the top to see where he went. We got about half way up when Dustin spotted four rams coming down the bowl behind us, right toward us. We watched them get within 600 yards then they disappeared so we made our way around the mountain to try to locate them. At that point Coke spotted 9 more rams coming straight toward us on the mountain across from us! By this time, we have no idea what is going on and where all these rams were going. We watched this last group disappear under the hill so we slowly made our way where they had last been seen. Justin belly crawled over to the edge and almost exploded with excitement! All the rams were 40 yards from us! The hillside below us had recently given way and exposed a new mineral lick, where they were all congregated, probably 15-20 rams in all.

There were some tense moments where we watched the rams scurry up the hill after smelling us. There were a couple of legal rams but they were very tightly grouped and no shot presented itself. The only thing we could do was watch as they made their way out of range and hope that one of the older rams separated itself from the younger sheep. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

I’m not sure how many miles and vertical feet we covered that afternoon trying to get close to one of the many groups of rams we saw, but we were all exhausted and ready for some Mountain House.

The morning of day nine and the urgency of the situation starts to set in. With the frequent storms that we were experiencing, two days could be cut short real easily. It was at that point that Coke pointed out, “I’ve been in situations like this before and we spotted sheep right from the middle of camp. There’s always hope.” Within 10 minutes Justin had found one of the groups of sheep, from the center of camp. Immediately we grabbed our gear and set off to make a stalk on them.

Putting the Zamberlans through their paces. These boots are made for the most harsh conditions that you can put them through, and your feet will love them. When I showed up at camp one of the other guides had just bought a pair of the same boots and we were both raving about them the entire hunt.

The rams began wandering back into one of the large bowls, and Coke and I set off after them. With little to no cover, making a stalk seemed almost impossible. That’s when the fog sat in again, only this time we used it to our advantage. When the fog blew in we ran across the shale as quickly as we could knowing that it would only give us a few minutes worth of cover at a time. This happened three or four times until we were finally close enough to notice they were starting to bed down again. We had just enough cover to make our way to a rim rock directly above them.

The two legal rams in this group are laying down in the center, the two closest to us.

As Coke and I eased our way forward we noticed that the rams were only 40 yards away, staring directly at us! We quickly ducked behind the rocks, Coke instructed me which ram was legal, then I slowly crept forward. As soon as I peaked over the top the rams spooked and ran about 30 yards before turning around to see what we were. I raised my rifle, rolled the safety off, and fired. The 180 grain bullet struck him in the shoulder blade, anchoring him with a fatal blow.

The author with his Dall Sheep Ram, after nine long days in the field. Now the hard work begins to break the animal down and pack him out. Everything except bone and unusable internal organs are taken. The heart was eaten the next morning for breakfast, it makes a very good lean protein to start the day.

By this time, it was getting late in the afternoon, even by Alaskan standards. We pulled out a backstrap and left the rest up on the mountain for the night. It was cold enough that the meat would be ok and far enough up in the shale bowl that no predators would stumble upon it. We made our way back to camp for a special dinner. Dall sheep backstrap roasted over a campfire on a willow branch. No seasonings, no butter, not even a pan or grill. It was the best steak I’ve ever had in my life.

The hike to pick up the ram the next morning was exciting, and unbelievably exhausting at the same time. The rush of the hunt had subsided and, while still excited about packing out my trophy, the nine days of hunting were starting to take their toll. Walking was like having lead weights tied to my ankles, especially trying to climb the loose shale rock. Luckily we could get the horses within a few miles of the ram so packing him out didn’t take long at all. Soon, we were on our way back to base camp, and the ability to completely dry out.

The trip home was a blur. Most of us were in and out of consciousness or working on photos and videos all the way to Anchorage. While it was nice to have a regular shower and return to normal sleep patterns, leaving the Alaskan wilderness was hard. It felt natural to wake up and know that all ties to the outside world were cut off. No cell phones. No cars. No waiters or cashiers. For some this would be a nightmare, but for us this was perfection.

Every person should take a vacation from civilisation and experience what life was like just a couple of short generations ago. Once you step away from everything and harvest your own wild game, nothing will look the same and you will earn a whole new respect for not just the natural world but also our place in it. We as a society are preached to about conservation and how to better utilise our natural resources, what better way to experience how the natural world works than to immerse yourself into it?

Justin Moore and Rockhouse Motion

[MIKA27]

This Sleek Carbon Fibre Wheelchair Is What Professor X Would Use

Design options for wheelchairs seem stuck on a spectrum from boring to next-level boring. That’s what Andrew Slorance wants to change. The UK-based entrepreneur is in the process of getting his Carbon Black chairs approved to take the distinctly stylish chairs to the US.

Made with lightweight, streamlined carbon fibre, the Carbon Black wheelchair was designed well: The sporty, minimalist look is so far removed from the metallic, sterile appearance of a traditional wheelchair that it looks like a foreign luxury sports car next to older chair models. It’s what I imagine Professor X would use if he had his pick today

“It is designed to empower the user in the knowledge they are using a highly designed, high tech piece of kit not a medical device,” Slorance told me.

“Highly designed” might be an understatement. Building a better wheelchair has been Slorance’s dream for years, ever since he was paralysed at age 14.

Carbon Black customises each chair, so you can get a certain type of wheel or make adjustments based on specific needs.

In addition to looking good, the thin material makes it an easy chair to push around, and the rounded edges aren’t just an aesthetic decision: They are made that way so they won’t snag on clothes as well, and to make dismantling the chair to transfer into a car an easier process.

Carbon Black is aiming for US retail in 2015, but even after they need FDA approval, they will need to get insurance companies onboard to make the custom-made chairs affordable, especially since it’s a very small family company manufacturing in small batches right now. As a result Carbon Black chairs are about double the price of a standard chair. “We really want to get it VA approved so veterans can get it provided for them and of course insurance companies are in our sights too,” Slorance told me.

So that will be a battle for affordability, but one worth fighting. This is a wheelchair created by someone who knows what it is like to be reduced down to your medical equipment, a chair designed to enhance life without entombing users in dated stereotypes.

Carbon Black isn’t the only lightweight carbon fibre wheelchair idea. Motion Composites, a Quebec-based company, sells attractive, sleek wheelchairs with carbon fibre finishes. While they’re not quite as distinctive from a design standpoint, they are already on the market, so there are already other options besides a traditional chair. There’s another contender in the pretty wheelchair market for people who want to use a power chair: the elegant Whill is a minimalist motorised mobility tool with smartphone connectivity.

But the beautiful Carbon Black design will be a welcome addition when it arrives. Here’s hoping they can drop the price so anyone who wants to can get a mobility tool that Charles Xavier would approve.

[MIKA27]

1 In 3 Americans Are On File In The FBI's Criminal Database

The FBI has over 77.7 million Americans in its master database of criminals. And according to the Wall Street Journal, they’re adding between 10,000 and 12,000 new names per day. That means that roughly one out of every three American adults has a file with the FBI.

From a new article in the Wall Street Journal about the rise of arrests in America’s schools:

Over the past 20 years, prompted by changing police tactics and a zero-tolerance attitude toward small crimes, authorities have made more than a quarter of a billion arrests, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates. Nearly one out of every three American adults are on file in the FBI’s master criminal database.

The WSJ uses this statistic within the context of the police presence in our nation’s schools and tells the story of one young woman in Florida who was arrested for conducting an explosive science experimenton school property.

A science experiment that went awry turned into a 17-month battle for Kiera Wilmot and her mother as they tried to clear the honour student’s arrest record. According to the police report, she was on school grounds outside the classroom trying out an experiment that hadn’t been authorised by her teacher. Ms. Wilmot, now 18, said she put a piece of aluminium inside a bottle with two ounces of toilet cleaner to see what would happen. The teen’s mother said she was trying to simulate a volcanic eruption.

“It popped,” blowing the top off the bottle, she said. She was handcuffed by the school-resource office, escorted out of the Bartow, Fla., school and taken to a juvenile facility where she was charged with possessing or discharging firearms or weapons at school and making, throwing, possessing, projecting, placing or discharging a destructive device.

Amid a flurry of news coverage, the charges were dropped, but the arrest record remained. Ms. Wilmot’s mother, Marie, said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement declined to expunge the record. A second attempt, this time as an adult, was approved last week by a judge, who ordered her records sealed, Marie Wilmot said.

Most kids, as the WSJ piece notes, aren’t so lucky to have their records sealed or expunged.

[MIKA27]

THE WET SHAVE CLUB BOX

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t pull out the wet shave gear unless there’s a wedding, christening or funeral in my near future – though hopefully not mine on all counts. That said, the art of the wet shave is something all men should familiar with and many men need to wet shave on a daily basis due to preference, career or lady-friend reasons.

The Wet Shave Club is a new company that sends a monthly box to members, the specific contents of the box change each cycle but you’ll always be guaranteed new razors, wet shave soaps, aftershaves, styptic matches, and mystery items. A 6 month subscription is $22 per month and full year is $19 – either of which is cheaper than keeping the cupboard stocked with Gilette Mach Schick IIVX blades. Buy Here

[MIKA27]

Did Picasso Try to Steal the Mona Lisa?

The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in August 1911. How did one of the best-known painters of all time become a prime suspect?

On August 21, 1911—a humid Monday morning—in Paris, France, a man walked out of the Louvre with a large, 18-pound object consisting of a mischievous smile painted on three slabs of wood, protruding from his jacket. The thief had just made off with the Mona Lisa. Earlier that weekend, the man patiently waited, even sleeping in an art-supply closet of the museum before entering the Salon Carré wing where the painting was on display.

Knowing the museum was closed to the public on Mondays, the would-be thief waited until no staffers were within the vicinity, allowing the opportunity to finally take the famous painting off the four hooks on which it rested. Within days, from London to São Paulo to New York City, newspapers began running headlines about da Vinci’s missing masterpiece.

Almost immediately, the Paris-Journal began advertising 50,000 francs for the Mona Lisa’s return, no questions asked, according to John Richardson’s A Life of Picasso. Among the lead suspects, it would emerge, was Pablo Picasso, one of the world’s most famous painters.

We’ve come to know many of the facts that made up Picasso’s remarkable life: son of an art teacher and unsuccessful painter; first moved to Paris at the turn of the century in 1900.

Following the suicide of his best friend and fellow painter Carlos Casagemas in 1901, he entered his Blue Period, then the Rose Period, followed by the African-inspired period, then, of course, Cubism. Yet, what’s lesser known of the genius from Málaga was his 1911 run-in with the law and how the events that transpired nearly altered the course of modern art as we know it.

After Picasso moved to Paris in 1900, he surrounded himself with fellow bohemian artists and poets such as Guillaume Apollinaire and Max Jacobs. They called themselves La Banda Picasso, and together the group would push the boundaries not only of traditional art or stylistic experimentation, but of contemporary culture as well.

In 1907, Picasso was courting his first great love, Fernande Olivier. In a journal entry, quoted in Norman Mailer’s Portrait of Picasso as a Young Man, Fernande explains both the hardships facing the beatnik artists of Montmartre as well as the strong bond of friendship within La Banda Picasso, friendships that would eventually be severed within the next five years. “It’s now six months that I’ve been living here with Pablo. When I arrived, it was very hot in the studio. At present, it’s fearfully cold. I stay in bed, covered up, to avoid being frozen by the cold. There’s no coal, no fire, no money…Max Jacob and Apollinaire come each day. Picasso and Guillaume can laugh through an entire night of suggestions, inventions, songs, games that Max plays with his face. The studio rings with our laughter. Foolishness takes us over and, like children, we encourage each other, mutually, to see who can become the most absurd.”

Around the time La Banda Picasso was roaming the streets of Montmartre in search of creative inspiration, the Louvre put on display their primitive Iberian sculptures from the 4th or 3rd century BC. Picasso was drawn to these figures for many reasons, not least of all that they originated and were molded from the sacred fires of prehistoric Spain.

To his close friends, Picasso did not hide his admiration for the Iberian sculptures. One of those who knew of Picasso’s fondness for the art was Géry Pieret. Pieret, a corrupt man from Belgium, was an ancillary member of La Banda Picasso, serving as Apollinaire’s secretary.

After hearing of Picasso’s affinity for the most recent additions to the museum, Pieret visited the Louvre in March of 1907. Within two days, he had stolen as many Iberian sculptures, eventually presenting them to Picasso as a gift. In turn, the grateful Spanish artist paid the Belgian thief a sum of 50 francs apiece, according to Richardson’s A Life of Picasso.

So inspired was Picasso, that he used the faces of the sculptures in the formation of the first of his many masterpieces, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), a painting many saw as the exact antithesis of the Mona Lisa, writes R. A. Scotti in Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa.

A few years passed, and La Banda Picasso remained tight knit but for a few members, such as Pieret, who left France. The Belgian had a stint in America, before coming back to Paris in 1911 to stay at the apartment of Apollinaire. The penniless Pieret announced his intentions of stealing more art from the woefully guarded Louvre to make more money. Upset with the idea, Apollinaire begged him not to.

Yet, Pieret refused, instead stealing another sculpture which, in turn, he displayed on his friend's mantlepiece in the presence of a dozen writers and artists, all close acquaintances of Apollinaire. The very day Apollinaire asked Pieret to leave his home, the Mona Lisa was stolen.

Led by motives of malice towards his former mentor and an eye on the handsome reward, Pieret went to the Paris-Journal with information regarding the stolen statue resting on Apollinaire’s mantlepiece, incriminating the poet for harboring the statuettes from the Louvre.

A few days earlier, Louis Lépine, chief officer on the case, was pleased his men had found the Mona Lisa’s disposed frame. He was gaining confidence the painting would soon be found as well. All they needed were some names, and a lead.

Apollinaire urged Picasso and Fernande, then in the south of France, to return to Paris as soon as possible. Upon arrival, both men—fearing the authorities and possible deportation—(Apollinaire was born in Italy, but of Polish descent) began hashing out a plan to dispose of the statues.

Once more, Fernande’s words—as quoted by Mailer—explained the extreme anxiety felt between poet and artist. “I can see them both: contrite children, stunned by fear and making plans to flee the country. They decided to get rid of the compromising objects immediately. Finally, they had made up their minds to go out that night and throw the suitcase containing the sculptures into the Seine—they left on foot about midnight, carrying the suitcases. They returned at two in the morning, absolutely dog-tired. They still had the suitcases, and its contents. They had wandered up and down, unable to deliver themselves of their parcel. They thought they were being followed. Their imaginations dreamed up a thousand possible occurrences, each more fantastic than the last.”

The next morning, Apollinaire went to an editor at the Paris-Journal named André Salmon. He offered the stolen statues on the one condition; that their source be kept secret, writes Mailer. Upon the news that the stolen artifacts had been returned to the newspaper, the police immediately sprang on the offices of the Paris-Journal. Fearing the threat of arrest, Salmon gave the authorities Apollinaire’s identity.

Rummaging through Apollinaire’s papers, the authorities found letters from Pieret. The poet was taken for questioning, where, in part due to hysteria, in part to save his mistress, and mother, Apollinaire admitted guilt—Picasso’s as well as his own. The man who was to be the most successful painter of all time was now being linked to the most famous art theft in history.

To make matters worse, Apollinaire’s stories were in constant flux, at one point admitting Pieret had actually made off with the Mona Lisa. The police locked him in a cell, and made plans to arraign Picasso. The next morning, the authorities reported to the world that, writes R. A. Scotti, “they were on the trail of a gang of international thieves who had come to France for the purpose of despoiling our museums.”

At 7 o’clock, on the morning of September 8th, nineteen days after the Mona Lisa was stolen, the police ordered Picasso to appear before the magistrate as a lead suspect in the theft of highly valuable pieces of art from the Louvre. Trembling with fear, Picasso had trouble dressing himself. To be publicly seen a criminal in custody of the authorities was a moment the sensitive artist would never forget.

The authorities felt that the same thieves tied to the stolen Iberian sculptures would also be hinged to the Mona Lisa’s disappearance. Apollinaire and Picasso faced each other across the courtroom as if they had no idea who the other was. Picasso, with his polka-dot shirt and clashing tie attempted an air of bravado, but lost confidence by the minute.

Apollinaire seemed, writes Richardson, “pale, undone, undone, unshaven, collar torn, shirt open, without a tie, skinny, small, a lamentable wreck and painful to look at.”

While being questioned by the judge, both men contradicted themselves and each other. Apollinaire accused his best friend of bringing the stolen statues to the newspaper. Picasso accused the other of knowing the whereabouts of the Mona Lisa.

Judge Drioux intimated Picasso he was part of a larger gang of criminals who stole the Mona Lisa. Almost instantly, Picasso’s machismo dissolved. In his fear, he pleaded absolute ignorance. He swore to not knowing the Iberian statues were stolen, and asked for the judge to trust he had no connection with the heist of the Mona Lisa.

Distraught, confused and ashamed, both men broke down in the courtroom, weeping like children and begging for forgiveness. It was to become the most embarrassing scene in Picasso’s life. “I’m afraid Picasso never forgave me for having seen him so upset,” Fernande later wrote.

During the court hearing, it became apparent to Picasso that Apollinaire had indicted his dear friend in connection with the stolen works. When the judge finally asked Picasso if he knew Apollinaire, his embarrassment turned to rage. In a fit of anger, says Richardson, the artist responded, “I have never seen this man.”

Finally, the magistrate deemed Apollinaire and Picasso had had nothing to do with the disappearance of the Mona Lisa, stating rather, that the police had victimized them for their own selfish purposes of demonstrating two leads in the case. Apollinaire was released on September 12th.

Picasso was released as well, never to be bought back for further questioning. Nevertheless, for the next several weeks, the two were convinced they were still being followed. Picasso only left his studio at night, paranoid he was still thought to be harboring the Mona Lisa, Olivier recorded in her private journals, which later became a book, Loving Picasso.

Picasso went on to paint some of the most influential and lucrative paintings of the 20th century. But Apollinaire never recovered from the incident. He enlisted to fight for France in the First World War and in 1916 received shrapnel wounds to the head, an injury that would eventually lead to his death.

Nearly half a century later, in an interview with art filmmaker Gilbert Prouteau, Picasso spoke about the events of 1911. “When the judge asked me: ‘Do you know this gentleman?’…I answered: ‘I have never seen this man.’…I saw Guillaume’s expression change. The blood ebbed from his face. I am still ashamed.”

As for the actual thief of the Mona Lisa, he was an Italian by the name of Vincenzo Perugia, who was put on trial and sentenced to eight months in prison. The story made international headlines, if only for a brief moment. Within days of Perugia’s sentencing, the First World War broke out.

[MIKA27]

THREE JERKS BEEF JERKY

We don't know if they're actually jerks, but we do know the team behind Three Jerks Beef Jerky makes a damn tasty snack. Starting with tender filet mignon and using nothing but natural flavors and ingredients, they offer three flavors — original, Memphis BBQ, and chipotle adobo — that are all equally satisfying in their own way. Great as a healthy snack, to wash down with a cold beer, or to fight off hunger when you're out on the field/course/trail. Buy at Three Jerks

[MIKA27]

Can Anyone Really Eat This Insane Five-Patty Japanese Cheeseburger?

I always feel guilty eating plain double cheeseburgers, but after seeing the Tower Cheeseburger by Korean-Japanese fast food chain Lotteria, I won’t anymore. These people are crazy. And the real thing even looks crazier than this beauty marketing shot.

There’s a Shrimp Tree Burger version too:

[MIKA27]

Air New Zealand Made A Lord Of The Rings Movie For An Epic Safety Video

Air New Zealand loves to make fun in-flight safety videos that can include anything from body paint to supermodels to Richard Simmons to Betty White. This time though, they have gone beyond epic: the safety video is basically a full on LOTR and Hobbit movie set in Middle Earth. It’s impressive.

Air New Zealand has featured characters from The Hobbit in a in-flight safety video two years ago but that was all filmed within the aeroplane, this is an incredible visit to Middle Earth (it is in New Zealand, after all). Elijah Wood and Peter Jackson both show up too, along with other characters in costume.

[MIKA27]

B&O Has A Stunning New High-End Bluetooth Speaker

Bang and Olufsen is usually best known for audio equipment that costs more than your car. But now, it’s decided to create something that normal people can afford — its first ever portable Bluetooth speaker.

The BeoPlay A2, presumably squaring up to Bowers & Wilkins’ new offering, claims to be supremely portable — so, despite a reassuring weight, it’s slim and flat. Portable is a subjective term, of course, but it certainly looks promising.

And while we’re on looks, it’s… well, stunning. Hewn from a single piece of aluminium, its sides are shrouded by polycarbonate to guard the controls and ports that sit around the edge. At one end there’s a leather strap to carry it, and add a touch of decadence.

But sound. What about sound? Well, there’s a large woofer at one end, a smaller tweeter at the other and a passive bass radiator between the two. Combine that with what it calls “Power Response Enhancement” — a way of helping sound emanate in all directions so that that speaker is agnostic to orientation — and it sounds like it should produce some promising audio. Engadget has taken a listen and claims that “this looks like the sort of device you’d use as your primary home speaker, let alone one you’d take on the road.” Which would be quite something; it might be worth taking a listen before you go in that direction, though.

In terms of battery life, the company claims will last for 24 hours, which is very healthy, and there’s a USB port so you can share some of that juice with your other devices, too. It’s not waterproof, but B&O does claim it will put up with a few gentle splashes and survive being dropped.

The BeoPlay A2 will be available in Burnished Gold, Camouflage Green and Black and will set you back $US350. You can get one as of today in the US. Australian availability and pricing is yet to be announced.

[MIKA27]

Japan: Thousands see Taiwan's 'Meat-Shaped Stone'

One of Taiwan's more bizarre national treasures is returning home after an exhibition drew thousands of visitors in Japan.

Nearly 84,000 people came to see the famous Meat-Shaped Stone, which was on display at Japan's Kyushu National Museum in the southern city of Fukuoka, the United Daily News reports. The daily average of 5,995 visitors was somewhat lower than a previous exhibition in Tokyo featuring Taiwan's Jadeite Cabbage, which drew 21,000 people per day. But organisers put this down to the Kyushu Museum being less convenient for those wanting to travel to see the meaty treasure.

One of Taiwan's most revered artefacts, the Meat-Shaped Stone is a piece of jasper, carved and dyed to resemble a chunk of stewed pork. According to the National Palace Museum, the craftsman "took the rich natural resources of this stone and carved it with great precision... the veining and hair follicles making the piece appear even more realistic." Carved in jadeite, the cabbage was made during the Qing dynasty, and comes complete with two insects on its leaves. Its display in Tokyo caused a minor diplomatic row after organisers were reluctant to use the word "national" in publicity material, in case it caused offence to Beijing.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

Concerns for the Meat-Shaped Stone's safety mean that the Taiwanese museum has kept its travel plans a closely guarded secret. But it's known that it had to undergo a 24-hour period of motionless after it had been packed before it was allowed to travel.

An earlier display featuring the Jadeite Cabbage caused a minor diplomatic row

[MIKA27]

Why You Definitely Shouldn't Drink Your Own Pee

During his 127-hour ordeal under that boulder, backpacker Aaron Ralston resorted to consuming his own urine in order to stay alive before eventually hacking off his own forearm and escaping. This was an extreme survival case, and pretty much the only time you should even consider drinking from your own spigot. Here’s why.

There’s more to urine than just piss and vinegar

Urine is a nitrogen-rich liquid byproduct created by the kidneys — it’s the body’s primary means of expelling water-soluble chemicals generated through the metabolic process. Urine is actually a secondary waste disposal mechanism. Blood first passes through the liver where where toxins, dead cells, and various waste is removed and eliminated. then pumped through the kidneys where excess fluids and water-soluble molecules — nitrogen, vitamins, minerals, proteins, antibodies, and other metabolites — are extracted and transferred to the bladder to await expulsion.

There’s a misconception that urine is sterile when it exits your body. It’s not. That myth began in the 1950s. Edward Kass, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical, began screening pre-op surgery patients for urinary tract infections and the samples that passed were marked “negative”. The notion that urine is sterile likely grew from those sample markings.

It’s close — your pee is roughly 95 per cent water, 5 per cent metabolites. But recent studies have shown that like the surface of your skin, the inside of your skull, and the depths of your bowels, your urinary tract is host to bacterial colonies.

One such report from May, produced by a research team led by Evann Hilt of Loyola University of Chicago, found that small numbers of bacteria do, in fact, call your urethra home. The team suspects that the bacteria there behave much like those in the gut, with a mix of beneficial and detrimental bacterial species constantly vying for dominance.

What is urine therapy?

If that’s the case, and your pee potentially contains beneficial compounds, why not have a sip? You wouldn’t be the first. Urophagia, the practice of consuming urine, is more often called auto-urine therapy (or just urine therapy) by those that partake and has been an established practice for millennia.

It was first described in the Damar Tantra, an ancient sanskrit text considered an offshoot of the canon Hindu scriptures, which promoted massaging the skin with fresh urine as a sort of cure-all. Subsequent texts suggest mixing it with food, liquid, or other medical tinctures as a cure for cancer.

References to the practise have also been found in Egyptian and early Chinese medical texts — even the Aztecs reportedly used urine as a disinfectant (which is thought to be the origin of the urban myth regarding peeing on jellyfish stings — also a bad idea). The practice spread from the Indian subcontinent throughout the rest of Asia and into Western Europe by rise of the Roman empire.

These days, urine therapy remains a popular homeopathic remedy in China where an estimated three million people tip a cup of piss to their own health. In America, urine therapy has gained a sizable following thanks to ringing endorsements from celebrated health experts and medical professionals like Madonna, who reportedly pees on her own feet to cure athlete’s foot, as well as boxer Juan Manuel Márquez and MMA stars Lyoto Machida and Luke Cummo, who supposedly drink it for various perceived health benefits. Only three of those four get punched in the face for a living so this practice must be legit, right?

More widely, consuming one’s own urine (either as a topical ointment, nasal and ocular irrigator, gargle, or actually ingested) is claimed to cure everything from common colds and lethargy to cancer and AIDS. Amazon’s virtual shelves are packed with pro-pee literature extolling urine as a self-produced wonder drug. With such miraculous benefits, you’d think modern medicine would be kicking down the bathroom door to get at this golden (shower) resource.

Homeopathy advocates like Martha Christy, author of Your Own Perfect Medicine argue the reason that’s not happening is that the medical community is conspiring to keep auto-urine therapy a secret since there is little financial profit for them in it. In reality, there has yet to be a rigorous scientific study confirming these benefits or even suggesting that they exist.

Don’t drink your pee even when urine a pinch

In fact, a host of medical professionals have concluded that consuming your pee, using it as a tooth whitener (it does contain ammonia), or otherwise ingesting it is a rather bad idea. For example, peeing on jellyfish stings is counterproductive as the sodium in your piss can reactivate embedded nemocysts (the actual stingers) worsening the pain while the bacteria present in your urine are afforded a free trip into your bloodstream.

Nor is it an effective anti-cancer agent. It was once thought that since urine is laced with cancer antigens, reintroducing it to your digestive system could help boost the body’s immuno-production. The American Cancer Society disagrees, stating:

There are some individual reports of urotherapy’s ability to stop cancer growth. However, available scientific evidence does not support claims that urine or urea given in any form is helpful for cancer patients. Two small studies done during the 1980s found urea did not cause tumors to shrink in patients with cancer in the liver.

It’s not even considered a viable option when you’ve had your arm stuck underneath a boulder for three days. The Army Field Manual argues against it in survival situations as the sodium content of the pee will accelerate dehydration and Helen Andrews of the British Dietetic Association seems inclined to agree.

“There are no health benefits to drinking your own urine, and in fact I think it could be quite detrimental. Each time you put it back it will come out again even more concentrated and that is not good for health as it could damage the gut,” she told The Independent. “If you are stranded, your body will try to conserve as much water as it can. Drinking your urine would be like drinking seawater.” Except, you know, less tasty.

[MIKA27]

Old, Rich Google Man Already Beat Felix Baumgartner's Space Jump Record

Looks like Red Bull’s wings aren’t very good at keeping people ahead of the competition. Today, Alan Eustace, a 57-year-old senior vice president at Google, broke Baumgartner’s much-heralded world altitude breaking record.

He went up into the stratosphere in a helium balloon and jumped out at around 41,425m (Baumgartner went up a paltry 38,969m). It took him 15 minutes to reach the ground, and on the way he smashed Baumgartner’s record as he zipped to the earth at 1287km/h.

Eustace told the New York Times that Google was willing to assist him, but he declined out of fear it’d get turned into a marketing stunt. Eustace sounds pretty cool (he has a long history as a parachutist and did show flips on his way down).

Now, obviously Baumgartner’s jump was badass, but the fact that a corporate executive was able to surpass the record in such a short period of time sure suggests that it’s not so much about the feat being near-impossible as it is about the feat being an extremely expensive undertaking. Red Bull’s XXXtreme marketing guys must be a bit glum today.

No word on whether Eustace consumed an energy drink beforehand, but you can watch his jump below:

[MIKA27]

US Special Force's New Sniper Scope Works Like A Human Eye

Conventional sniper scopes may allow for superlatively long shots but they are far from perfect, requiring a time-consuming refocusing of the sights should the target (or shooter) have to move position. But with the new RAZAR scope from Sandia National Labs, that refocus is handled almost instantly with the push of a button.

Conventional long-range rifle scopes adjust the focal point by sliding one or more lenses back and forth within the scope assembly — like a telescope. The RAZAR (Rapid Adaptive Zoom for Assault Rifles), on the other hand, works more like the human eye. It’s optics can deform — that is, change the degree of curvature — growing flatter or rounder depending on the need, much as ocular muscles press and pull on the eye’s lens to focus our vision to various distances.

The impetus behind the idea of push-button zoom is you can acquire what you’re interested in at low magnification and, without getting lost, zoom in for more clarity,” Sandia National Laboratories optical engineer Brett Bagwell said in a press statement.

According to Sandia Labs:

The U.S. Military requested a compact zoom riflescope, capable of rapidly toggling between magnification at the push of a button without changing the grip on the weapon or losing sight picture. The Rapid Adaptive Zoom for Assault Rifles (RAZAR) filled this request. RAZAR can zoom in milliseconds and perform 10,000 actuations on two AA batteries. The weight, power, and speed requirements for mechanical zoom make them prohibitive. RAZAR allows target engagement at diverse ranges and provides several distinct advantages including speed and high resolution at varying distances.

This offers a faster and easier function compared to traditional mechanical scopes and higher clarity than digital zooms. The only real drawback is that the scope will lock into a single focal point if the batteries die, though that can be quickly rectified by swapping in a fresh pair.

Sandia hopes that this technology will find its way not just to the battlefield but to a variety of civilian uses as well from consumer-grade adaptive optic binoculars to long-range sports photography.